Circulating oil heater



Nov. 7, 1939. R. HOFFMAN CIRCULATING OIL HEATER Filed July 18, 1958 4Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 7, 1939. R. HOFFMAN CIRCULATING OIL HEATER 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 13, 1938 R. HOFFMAN CIRCULATING OIL HEATERNov. 7, 1939.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 18, 1938 Nov. 7, 1939. R. HOFFMANCIRCULATING OIL HEATER Filed July 18, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 PatentedNov. 7, 1939 PATENT OFFICE 2,179,041 cmcum'rmc on. HEATER RudolphHoflman,

Rocky River, Ohio, assignor to American Stove Company,

St. Louis, Mo.,

a corporation of New Jersey Application July 18, 1938, Serial No.219,877

10 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in circulating oil heaters and itpertains to a heater adapted to heat one or more rooms of a house andreferring generally it is that type of heater which comprises a housingcontaining an oil burner and means whereby the air is circulated by theheater substantially uniformly throughout the room containing the same.

Heaters of the above type, as heretofore made, do not heat the roomuniformly, because they do not contain any construction for controllingthe circulation of the air heated thereby. It is found that in heatersof the general class herein described the heat ascends rapidly to theupper portion of the room, because the heater lacks any means orconstruction for circulating the heat therefrom first to the floor ofthe room and ascending to the upper parts of the room. The heater whichforms the present invention contains means for forcing some of the heatfirst to the floor of the room which warms the floor and then ascends tothe upper portion of the room. A heater not thus provided with any meansfor first forcing the heated air to the floor of the room, the heatedair ascends quickly to the upper portion of the room and leaves thatportion of the room adjacent the fioor unheated until all of the air ofthe room has been heated. Therefore, the heater embodying the presentinvention first quickly heats the air adjacent the floor of the roomrather than first heating the air above the heater in the room, asheretofore constructed.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an aircirculating means which is a unit that will receive the ordinary oilheater, that is to say, the old type of oil heater can be placed on topof the air circulating medium without any change in the heater itself,as will be described and shown hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical section of an oil heater and an air circulatingmeans applied thereto which embodies the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the air circulating mechanism which is showninFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of part of the air circulating mechanism shownin Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a separate vertical sectional view of the combined pan andcone arrangement which are located in the bottom portion of Figs. 1, 2and 3.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a modified form of airzregulagaing mechansm which is shown in Figs.

, and

Fig. 6 is a vertical central sectional view of the circulating mechanismshown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of another circulating mechanism showing afurther modification of the mechanism shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view showing parts of the mechanism whichis shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing part of the I intake fan shown inFigs. 1 and 2.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the heater generallyto which the present invention is applied comprises an outer housing i,an inner burner drum 2, which contains a burner 3, which is located inthe lower end of the said drum 2, and is supported on a ring i. Thisburner is of the well-known type having perforated walls, as shown andits bottom being slightly concaved. An oil supply pipe 5 has its innerend extending within the said burner and oil is supplied through thesaid pipe and the oil level within the burner is controlled in anywell-known manner. The

burner drum has its bottom 6 provided with an opening 1. This burnerdescribed thus far is well-known to the art. The burner drum isseparated from the surrounding housing I, as shown and the burner .drumhas an outlet flue 8 at its upper end, which flue is connected with theoutside of the building and is ordinarily connected with a chimney.

The base 9 is provided to receive the circulating mechanismwhich will bepresently specifically described-on which it is mounted. This base is azinc-covered board and is of a form adapted to receive the housing I andis of an area substantially equal to the horizontal area of the housing.It will be observed that the base has projecting from it four pedestalsI which are located in positions corresponding to the feet ll of saidhousing, the lower ends of the feet resting in sockets I2 formed intheir tops and into which said feet I I extend. The said base alsoincludes an air circulating mechanism consisting essentially offanblades l3, which are riveted to a. pulley l4 and also to the wall ofa large tubular member l which extends vertically. Below the saidtubular member l5 and the fan blades I3 is a pan-shaped member IS, thecenter of the pan projecting upwardly forming a conical member H, whichis at its center fastened to a support I 8 that is permanently attachedto the base member 9 by suitable rivets or screws t9. This support l8forms a journal for a short shaft that extends upwardly into the tubularmember l5. From the drawings it will be observed that this will bedescribed. This heater support |8 extends upwardly in the conicalportion I! of the pan and that the upper end is attached at 2| to saidsupport l8. This panshaped member has its upper end 22 located on ahorizontal line with the upper end of the support l8 and which bringsthe outer portion of the pan under the fan blades l3. The said shortshaft 20 has its upper end extending into the tubular member l5 andthrough the bottom 23 of said tubular member and this bottom is attachedto the upper end of the said shaft 20 by means of a suitable clamp 24.For the purpose of rotating the said tubular member and the fan bladescarried by it a belt 25 passes around the pulley and out through andbeyond the housing and around a smaller pulley 26 which is attached to ashaft 21 of a well-known electric motor 28. Electrically connected withsaid motor is an electric conductor 29 carrying at its outer end asuitable member 30 that is adapted to enter an electric socketnotshown-attached in the wall of the room containing said heater. From theabove description it will be understood that the electric motor rotatesthe pulley connected with the out-flared lower end of tube l5 and thepulley in turn rotates the fan blades I4, to which is attached thetubular member l5 that is also rotated.

The pan-like member l6 carries also a conically-shaped member 3|, whichextends within the pan and has its lower end separated from the bottomas clearly shown in Fig. 4. This conical member extends parallel orseparate from the conical-shaped portion ll of the pan and the spacebetween the conical-shaped members 3| and I! forms a'cone-shapedpassageway 32 having its upper end in communication with the tubularmember l5 and its lower end in communication with the said pan-shapedmember |6. Also located in this pan-shaped member are a plurality offins 33 which extend outwardly from the cone-shaped member 3 I This finmember 33 is suitably welded or otherwise connected with the bottom ofthe pan 1 6 and with the coneshaped member 3|.

The fan blades |3 are set at the proper pitch and the said fan isrotated in the proper direction to cause the air to be drawn through thegrill member 34 at the top of said housing I, through the space 6,housing and the burner drum 2 and the downwardly drawn air is forced outbetween the housing and the base 9 on to the floor of the roomcontaining the heater. Part of the downward flow of air is caught in thespaces or pockets between the fin members 33 and the cone member 3| andit is deflected" under the edge of the said cone member 3| and in anupward direction into the tubular member I5 and through the openings 35formed in the bottom 23 of said tubular member. For the purpose ofinsuring a sufiicient amount of air for the burner 3, the bottom 23 ofthe tubular member I5 is provided with a plurality of said openings 35and each opening is provided with a fan blade 36, which blades draw theair that is trapped in the pan through the openings 35, the tube IS, theopening I to against the bottom of the burner and around the said burnerand through the perforations 31 made in the wall of the said burner. Itwill be observed that the space 38 between the burner drum 2 and theburner 3 has its upper end closed by the member l4 so that all the airflowing through the opening 7 of the burner drum flows through theopenings 31 into the said burner 3.

From the foregoing it will be understood that two oppositely flowingcurrents of air are provided in this heater, one movement of the airbeing downward caused by the fan blades l3, and the other movement ofthe air for the burner 3 being upward and this upward flowing current iscaused by the shape of the pan I6 and its location in respect to the fanis through the tubular member l5 to the burner 3, as previouslydescribed. The upward flow of air is accelerated by the small fan blades36 also previously explained.

One modification of the invention, previously described, is shown inFigs. 5 and 6 of the drawings and it consists in providing a ring member39 having suitable gear teeth 40 at its periphery and the upper end ofsaid shaft 20 extends upwardly to a point beyond the upper end of thering 39 and carrying a small fan 4|, which small fan provides the upwardreverse current of air. The upper extended end of the shaft 29 carries agear wheel 42 and said gear will be in engagement with a miter gear 43,which has its outer periphery in engagement with the said teeth 40 onthe ring 39 and its inner periphery 44 in gear with the teeth of thewheel 42. The miter gear 43 is journaled on a support 45, which has itsouter end supported by an arm 46 which is attached to a suitablestationary member 41.

From the above description it will be noted that the rotation of themember 39 by the belt 25 rotates the fan blades l3, and this member 39through the idler miter gear 43 in turn rotates the gear 42 that carriesthe fan blades 4|.

The modification shown in Figs. 7 and 8 consists in elongating theelectric motor shaft 21 and placing thereon two pulleys 41 and 48 aroundwhich a belt 42 passes and the said belt passing over a pulley 5|] towhich the fan blades 5| are attached and that a second belt 52 passesaround a pulley 53 and rotating the small fan 54. The belt 52 is placedin crosswise form so that the fan 54 is rotated in a direction reverseto the direction of the rotation of the fan blades 5|.

It will be understood that in the operation of this burner some of thehot air of course rises from the upper end of the structure and inrespect to that air drawn downward through the said structure I find inthe operation of the burner that the effects can be felt as far as eightto ten feet on each side of the burner, which causes the air to bedistributed in the room and causes a faster circulation of the hot airin the room.

It will also be understood that the unit containing the fans can beconstructed to be attached to any form of heater now in use.

Instead of using the gear teeth on the inner side of the upper end ofthe member 39, in Fig. 5, and instead of using the gear teeth on theidler 43, the gear teeth can be omitted and the parts driven by frictionalone.

Instead of using the two belts, as shown in Fig. '7, the same result canbe obtained by turning the angle of the blades 4| in the properdirection to cause the air to move upward through the heater.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A room oil heater comprising a housing having an open lower end andan air passage through its upper end, a burner located in the lowerportion of said housing and apart from it to form a surrounding airpassage, an air circulating unit at the lower end of said housing, saidcirculating unit comprising two oppositely acting fans one fancommunicating with the said passage way of the said housing and causinga downward movement of air through said passage and the other fancentrally arranged in-respect to the first-mentioned fan, the secondmentioned fan communicating with the said burner and producing an upwarddraft of air combustion of the said burner.

2. A room oil heater comprising a housing having open lower and upperends, an oil burner placed within andat thelower portion of saidhousing, and an air circulating mechanism consisting of a fan havingblades located under the outer edge of said burner and forcing airdownward through the said housing and out of its lower end and a secondrelatively smaller fan located centrally in respect to the blades of thefirst-mentioned fan and the blades of the centrally arranged fanproducing an upward draft which is delivered to the said burner forcausing proper combustion of the oil in said burner.

3. A room oil burner comprising a housing having open lower and upperends, a burner drum located within the housing and separated from it toform a surrounding air passage, a burner in the lower end of said burnerdrum, a circulating unit consisting of a mechanism on which the heaterhousing is supported, said mechanism comprising a fan for causing adownward draft through the said housing and out of its lower open endand a fan for supplying an upward draft of air at-the center of thehousing below the said burner and having communication therewith forproviding sufiicient air to cause the proper combustion by said burner.

4. A room oil heater comprising a housing having open lower and upperends, a burner drum within the said housing and separated from itforming a surrounding air passage, a burner within the said drum, an aircirculating mechanism below the lower open end of the housing, asupporting base at the lower end of said mechanism, said mechanismincluding fan blades causing a downward draft of air through the drumand out its lower end and a member below the fan blades having an opentop a part of which is in communication with the said burner drum and apart receiving air from said fan, thereby causing an upward draft to thesaid burner drum and burner therein for insuring proper combustion ofsaid burner.

5. A room oil heater comprising a housing, a burner within the lowerportion of said housing and separated from it to form a surrounding airpassage, the lower and upper ends of the housing being open, acirculating mechanism located in the lower open end of the said housing,said mechanism comprising a base having upwardly projecting supportsreceiving the feet of the housing and supporting it above said base, anair circulating unit supported on said base and communicating with theopen lower end of the housing, a fan having blades located under theouter portion of the burner and causing a downward draft through thesaid housing, an enlarged tubular vertically extending member located atthe center of said fan and having its upper end open and incommunication with the sa d burner, the lower end of the tubular memberconnected and rotating with said fan and a smaller fan located withinthe said tubular member and causing an upward draft of air to the saidburner for maintaining combustion thereof.

6. An air circulating unit for room oil heaters communicating with theto insure proper I housing,

which contain an oil burner, the said circulating unit comprising asmall centrally arranged fan said oil burner for producing an upwarddraft of air for said burner, and a larger fan surrounding said smallerfan, a vertically arranged tubular member enclosing said small fan, aconical'pan-shaped open top member located beneath said fans and incommunication with the fan blades ,of the small and thelarge fans, saidpan-shaped member having conically arranged members forming a passageoutside .of the conical members and its upper end communicating with thelower end of said tubular member, and said pan-shaped member havingupwardly extending fins located beyond the outer wall of the conicalmember whereby a downward .draft of air is provided throughthe saidhousing and an upward draft of air is produced through the conicalmember to the burner for providing proper combustion thereof.

'7. A room oil heater comprising a housing, a burner within the housingat the lower portion thereof and apart from the wall of the said housingto form a circulating air passage within said housing, an aircirculating mechanism beneath the lower portion of said housingcomprising a large fan and a small fan, a supporting ring to which theblades of the large fan are attached, operating power connected withsaid ring, a small.

miter gear supported within the upper end of said ring which is providedwith inwardly extending gear teeth, an idler gear between the said ringand the small gear, a fan connected with the small gear and an upwardlyprojecting arm supporting a bearing for the said idler gear the innerend of said arm supported against movement, the said large fan bladesproducing a downward current in the housing and the blades of thesmaller fan producing an upward current of air to the said burner.

8. A room oil heater comprising a housing having open lower and upperends, a burner within the housing separated from said housing to form anair passage between the burner and the an air circulating mechanismbelow the lower portion of said housing and communicating therewith,said circulating mechanism compris ing a large fan and a centrallyarranged small fan, a motor operatively connected with said fans forrotating them, the blades of the large fan causing a downward current ofair through said housing and the blades of the small fan causing acentral upward current of air to said burner the parts arranged andoperating for the purpose herein set forth.

9. The combination with a heater housing having open upper and lowerends and containing therein a burner drum of smaller diameter than saidhousing and forming a space between the drum and said housing, a burnerin the lower end of the housing, an air circulating unit located in thelower end of said housing, said unit containing a fan havingcommunication with said housing and circulating air downwardly in saidspace and through the open end of said housing to the floor and also' anair deflector below said burner and circulating air centrally andupwardly into said drum and to said burner for maintaining combustiontherein.

'10. An improved room oil heater comprising two separate units first aunit consisting of a housing having open upper and lower ends, a burnerdrum within said housing and of less diameter than'thehousing andforming a surrounding air circulating space, and a burner in the lowerend of said drum, and a second unit consisting of an air circulatingmechanism detachably fitting in the open lower end of said housing andcontaining an air circulating mechanism em- 5 bodying a fan within saidopen end of the housing and creating a downward current through the saidpassage formed in the first unit, the

combustion therein whereby the first and second units are detachable forthe purpose set forth.

RUDOLPH HOFFMAN.

